Medford to honor Marathon victims with peace garden

The city of Medford has unveiled plans for a $1 million peace garden the city plans to build to honor the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.

Matthew Reid

The city of Medford is making sure that April 15 isn’t the only day people remember those who were killed in the Boston Marathon bombings of 2013.

Bill Campbell — father of marathon victim and Medford’s own Krystle Campbell — was joined by Medford High School softball players, pastors, city officials and others at Medford’s Hyatt Place Hotel last week. The reason for the gathering was to unveil plans for a $1 million peace garden the city plans to build to honor the victims.

“It was amazing,” Bill Campbell said about seeing the plans for the first time. “Mindblowing.”

The garden — which will be built next to the Medford Senior Center, on the outskirts of Medford Square — will feature a handful of benches circled around a fountain arrangement, separated from the street by trees that will provide shade. Embedded in the sidewalks will be plaques representing milestones of the marathon route, which will lead passed an MBTA bus stop on Clippership Drive.

Bronze plaques along the pavement approaching the center of the garden would tell visitors how the park came about and how to interpret various features — the fountain, for example, will be made up of five jets: four shorter ones for each bombing victim, and a fifth, taller one to symbolize international peace.

On the ground around the fountain visitors will see the names of the four victims next to arrow-shaped bronze medallions — the compass points. Each victims’ arrow will point in the direction of their hometown.

On the east side will be Krystle Campbell’s compass point. Bill Campbell said his daughter’s interest in all the things that shine in the sky represented her ambition. He said she was always looking to start new things and didn’t hold back.